09.19.06

Doug Mirabelli had a brief, difficult tenure in San Diego, and Padres GM Kevin Towers — who may or may not be in the middle of a pennant race, hard to tell — is all too happy to be rid of the backup backstop. From the San Diego Union Tribune’s Tim Sullivan.

œHe called (Dave) Roberts (when Mirabelli was traded) and said, ‘I guess I’m getting called back to the big leagues,’  Towers said before Monday’s game with the Dodgers. œI’m glad I didn’t hear that. . . . I don’t miss him. These guys don’t miss him.

Acquired as a stop-gap starting catcher after the Padres lost Ramon Hernandez to free agency, Mirabelli was quickly relegated to a reserve role upon the signing of Mike Piazza.

Mirabelli did not handle this as well as he does Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball. Towers says he received more calls from Mirabelli than from any other player during his tenure, and that the complaints were ceaseless.

œHe was (upset) when we got Piazza, Towers said. œ . . . He was (upset) because Rob Bowen was hitting in a group with Piazza and it should have been him. . . .

œThe Sunday before the trade, Mirabelli was calling my phone like 5-6 in the morning. I finally get to (Petco) Park . . . I get into the clubhouse and he says, ‘KT, can we have some private time?’ 

When they were alone, Towers said, Mirabelli told him the Padres might want to start Bowen behind the plate against the Dodgers that day, œbecause I’m not focused on the game.

œI said, ‘What?’  Towers recalled. œHe said, ‘My boys, the (Red) Sox have been calling me. I got to tell you, it’s all I watch on TV; all I think about is the Red Sox. Do me a favor and you guys a favor (and make a deal).

Bard was then leading the major leagues with 10 passed balls, unable to come to grips with Wakefield’s knuckleball. The Red Sox were desperate to bring Mirabelli back to Boston. But the last thing Towers wanted to do was accommodate a player whom he considered a pain.

“Other than everything that was quoted? It’s an assasination of my character for unprovoked reasons. I’ve been gone for 5 months. To just randomly come after Doug Mirabelli…for what reason? It’s as unprofessional as you can get, especially coming from someone at the helm of a huge organization. I had a hard time concentrating on the game…it’s something I truly believe was undeserved.”

I watch most regular season games with the sound off so I don’t have to hear Joe Morgan, Joe Buck, the horrible Astros broadcasters on FSN, etc fabricate banter to entertain the audience and I look forward to something a bit more exciting by the time the postseason rolls around.

With free agency being what it is, I find your point-of-view bizarre, if not stupid. Pedro v. Piazza has the possibility of someone being killed or beaten to death, so that’s cool, but your (ir)rationale about the other matchups is zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………..

Yeah, i’d hate it if I had to sit through a *good* pitching matchup like, say, Mussina v. Johan Santana. I’d much rather watch players like Glavine and Maddux waaay past their prime duel each other because, you know, they were once teammates. Bwahahahahah!!!!!